He is a professor of population health sciences at the SMPH and director of the UW Population Health Institute. In 2007, the Wisconsin Public Health Association named him the Public Health Researcher of the Year.

Remington will play a pivotal role in advancing the school's historic transformation into an institution that combines both medicine and public health, says Dr. Robert Golden, the school's dean. The SMPH is the first school of medicine and public health in the country, a model that seeks to improve health and health care through synergies in the two approaches.

"Integrating public health into all our missions will require the active, daily leadership of someone with a special perspective," says Golden. "Dr. Remington is that person. His background in the practice of public health and in academic medicine, coupled with his outstanding reputation in Wisconsin's public health community, will serve us extremely well."

Remington was chosen following a national search.

Before joining the SMPH faculty in 1997, he was a chief medical officer in the Wisconsin Division of Health, and also served as the state's chronic disease and injury epidemiologist.

"Dr. Remington has been a tireless champion for improving the health of the people of Wisconsin through evidence-based population health strategies throughout his career," says Karen E. Timberlake, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. "This new role will allow him to shape the way new health care professionals are trained, and will further strengthen the UW's leadership in forging that critical connection between the health care and public health sectors."

Prior to working for the state health department, Remington served as a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As an SMPH faculty member, he founded and has directed the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program and the UW Population Health Institute, both of which are supported by the Wisconsin Partnership Program, and served as associate director at the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center.

According to Bevan Baker, commissioner of the Milwaukee Health Department,
Remington's appointment sends a clear signal that the SMPH is reinforcing its commitment to public health in Wisconsin.

"Dr. Remington has made significant contributions to public and population health nationally, statewide and in Milwaukee as well," Baker says. "I am especially pleased by his work with the MPH program and the UW Population Health Fellowship Program, both of which have placed a significant number of master's and post-master's prepared learners in local health departments and community-based agencies here and around the state."

Baker also praises Remington's work with the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute, which has provided training and support to more than 500 public health practitioners statewide.

Remington's influence has been felt in rural areas as well.

"Pat Remington's energetic leadership with the UW Population Health Institute, the MPH program and his co-direction of the leadership institute has been good for rural health," says Tim Size, executive director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative. "He is the natural choice to be the UW's first associate dean for public health; there is a lot to still be accomplished."

Remington received his undergraduate and medical degrees at UW-Madison and completed an internship in Seattle and a residency in preventive medicine at the CDC, where he also served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer. He earned a master of public health degree from the University of Minnesota.